The National:

ONE of the newer members of the European Union is to take the lead on the EU’s approach to demographics.

Croatia, which has a population of more than a million less than that of Scotland, will take over the presidency of the EU Council, and has placed demographic issues – basically, the EU population is ageing – at the centre of its agenda.

Emerging Europe reported on a conference on the issue held in the capital Zagreb earlier this week.

They stated: “The conference, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) drew attention to a number of alarming indicators showing a rapid decrease in the EU population. These indicators suggest that by the end of the century the EU’s share of the total world population will be a meagre 4.1%. Half of the countries in the EU currently have a negative birth rate and life expectancy is rising, which necessarily leads to the ageing and shrinking of the working-age and reproductive-age population. As a result, by 2060, for every elderly person there will be two people of working age, compared to four currently. “ Croatia has a falling birthrate and increasing emigration so knows the problems the EU as a whole will face.

EESC president Luca Jahier said: “This [trend] will change the position of the EU in the global economic and geopolitical environment and affect its influence in the world. The EU needs to address this challenge if it wants to maintain its role as a global player in the future. Therefore, I deem it very important that this issue features on the agenda of the future Croatian presidency.”

Croatia’s Dubravka Suica has been nominated as the European Commission’s first ever vice-president for demography and democracy, and her colleague, the Croatian minister for demography, family, youth and social issues Vesna Bedekovic, said: “Demography needs to be put in the focus of EU policies in order to preserve the development of all member states.”

Iceland rocked by quota scandal

ICELANDIC fishing company Samherji is at the centre of a growing scandal following allegations by a former director that it paid bribes to prominent figures in Namibia, including two former ministers, to guarantee access to quotas for horse mackerel in the sea off the African country.

The National: Icelandic foreign affairs minister Gudlaugur Thor ThordarsonIcelandic foreign affairs minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson

Former director of Samherji’s operations Johannes Stefansson, who was sacked in 2016, went public on the company’s activities in Namibia, detailing both the level of bribes allegedly paid and the approximately $70 million revenue routed through a network of accounts in Cyprus and Norway, and a company based in the Marshall Islands tax haven and under Samherji’s control.

The allegation surfaced in an investigation carried out by journalists at Stundin, state broadcaster RÚV, Al-Jazeera and Wikileaks. They have named the Namibian former ministers concerned and alleged that $10m in bribes was paid by Samherji over a period of years.

Samherji, which owns the Aberdeen-based Onward Fishing Ltd, has replaced its chief executive Thorsteinn Mar Baldvinsson with Bjorgolfur Johannsson temporarily while the matter is investigated.

The company has stated: “We have engaged the international law firm Wikborg Rein in Norway to investigate the activities in Namibia. In this investigation, nothing will be excluded and we will disclose its findings as soon as they become available.”

The scandal has rocked Iceland. Foreign affairs minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson told broadcaster RUV: “This news is a shock. And not just a shock to us [in the government] but also, I think the nation is greatly worried that if all this turns out to be true, then what we’re seeing here is behaviour that is quite reprehensible, and as far from what we want to see and believe about Icelandic actors in business.”

Latvians celebrate national independence day

LATVIA celebrated its national day on Monday, marking 101 years since the Baltic nation declared its independence.

The National:

It was on November 18, 1918, that the People’s Council of Latvia gathered in a theatre in the capital city of Riga and proclaimed independence just a week after the end of the First World War.

Latvia’s independence lasted until the Second World War, when the country was briefly conquered by Nazi Germany and later subsumed into the Soviet Union – Latvia marks a second national day each May to mark the restoration of independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990.

The Latvian government received the congratulations of many countries around the world, including the USA.

Secretary of state Michael Pompeo wrote to them: “The United States and Latvia share a commitment to democratic values and to the protection of human freedoms. Today, Latvia is recognised internationally as a vibrant, flourishing democracy that stands as a powerful example of the success and strength of our Transatlantic community.

“In 2019, Latvia also celebrated the 15th anniversary of its accession to Nato, and we are grateful to have Latvia as our ally.

“We congratulate the people and nation of Latvia on all your achievements. Your determination and unbreakable spirit remain an example to people around the world.”

“Those words are important given the state of relations between Russia and its Baltic neighbours which are fragile to say the least.”

Pompeo’s praise of Latvia as a Nato ally was interpreted by some as a message to Russia.